Every moisturizer sold in this obnoxiously and insultingly priced range of skin-care products from Amway has a lengthy story behind it trying to explain why you should dump your wallet out and buy this junk. (Sorry, this just really is the worst part of the cosmetics industry: overpriced products with absurd marketing hype.) No matter how they try to spin the tale, this Vaseline-based moisturizer isn’t a miracle and certainly isn’t worth the price tag.

Creme LuXury’s fairy tale is that this moisturizer contains “CellEffect technology” to energize skin so that your skin acts up to 15 years younger. The ingredients that make up CellEffect are said to be so powerful (and, of course, rare) that they’re worth 30 times their weight in gold. If you have any sense, you will invest your money in gold, not this product.

Getting skin to act “15 years younger” is no great feat—lots of products do that, by providing sun protection, by exfoliating, or by being loaded with antioxidants. Aside from making a basic well-formulated moisturizer sound like something only Amway can give you, you need to know that this moisturizer is a tremendous waste of money, not only for its far-flung claims but also because it’s packaged in a jar. The jar packaging means that the beneficial ingredients won’t remain stable once it is opened. All plant extracts, vitamins, antioxidants, and other state-of-the-art ingredients break down in the presence of air, so once a jar is opened and lets the air in, these important ingredients begin to deteriorate. Jars also are unsanitary because you’re dipping your fingers into them with each use, adding bacteria, which further deteriorate the beneficial ingredients.

This moisturizer actually has a very good formula for dry skin; if only it were packaged in an air-tight container and cost a fraction of this amount. Spending this kind of money on this kind of formula, from any cosmetics company, is like encouraging a bad child to do more bad things.

Claims

Where other prestige anti-aging crèmes stop, ARTISTRY Crème LuXury begins. Bringing together the ultimate skin care experience and scientific innovation, Crème LuXury puts the power of youth at your fingertips, helping skin act up to 15 years younger. Its new patent-pending CellEffect technology re-energizes skin’s youth with an ingredient so powerful and rare that it’s worth 30 times its weight in gold.

Strengths: One of the few cosmetics companies that offers complete ingredient lists on their Web site; features some excellent moisturizers, serums, powder, lipstick, and eyeshadow options.

Weaknesses: Expensive for what you get (especially the Time Defiance products); lacks an effective disinfectant for blemishes; no viable skin-lightening options; some problematic toners and masks; foundations and lipstick with either low SPF ratings or a lack of sufficient UVA protection; OK makeup brushes.

Over 3 million people in 80 countries are selling Amway products, and for the most part their goal is to not only sell you products but to get you to sell the products yourself—and then you're supposed to get other people to sell them, and so on and so on. Statistically speaking, that means you have at some time been approached by someone offering you the opportunity to start a new business selling Artistry or other Amway products. As one Amway sales representative said to me, "Why would the company make anything that wasn't wonderful?" Obviously, no cosmetics line is perfect, or they wouldn't discontinue products and introduce new ones as this line has done, often with mixed results. The way Amway representatives, with the company's blessings, go about recruiting other salespeople to join their ranks is actually quite controversial. Amway is a multilevel marketing juggernaut with mythic proportions. Type "Amway cult" into any search engine and over 90,000 results are returned. A shopping experience accompanied by a recruitment push that could result in a risk of needing to be deprogrammed? Now that really is different! The company is aware of their detractors, and offers videos on their Web site to dispute the claims against them.

Contacting an Amway representative (Quixtar is the parent company, and they are part of the larger Alticor group of companies) is an interesting experience. Most are all too eager to perform a show-and-tell about the products, all with a presentation that's peppered with effusive praise and none-too-subtle hints that any products you like could make you more money than you thought possible, assuming you're willing to spread the word, and add to their "downline"—the term for those starting to sell the products under someone else's umbrella.

To shop Amway online is a tricky experience, at least in comparison to almost any other Internet commerce site. According to an article in Forbes magazine (June, 26, 2001) "Quixtar is the online offspring of $5 billion, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Amway Corp. Launched by the company at the height of the Internet stock craze in September 1999, Quixtar's business model is virtually identical to Amway's, only it's Web-enabled. IBOs [independent business owners] gather for online meetings and in chat rooms on the Web, and introduce friends, family, and co-workers to the password-protected Quixtar Web site where they can buy thousands of the same mostly overpriced health, beauty and household products that Amway sells." we agree with Forbes--this is an odd way to shop for products!

When it comes to their skin care products, Artistry (which debuted in 1968) insists that they test their products extensively, but there is no published research or documentation (other than claims and snippets of data) forthcoming from the company. A claim to have study results is not the same as seeing the study first-hand—there are lots of ways to conduct studies to net the results you want. Further, as is true with many cosmetics companies, there are problematic ingredients in several products. On the plus side, more and more Artistry products are staying on the cutting edge of skin care science, from using cell-communicating ingredients to launching sunscreens with improved textures and efficient UVA-protecting ingredients.

Don't expect bargains: These products have prices right up there with the high-end department-store brands. Several products are worthy of consideration, though you have to be strong-willed and assertive to avoid the corporate trappings that are part and parcel of shopping this line.

For more information about Artistry, call (800) 253-6500 or visit www.artistry.com.

Artistry Makeup

Quixtar's Artistry makeup has expanded since it was last reviewed, primarily in the foundation category. Perhaps coincidentally, this is also where the line excels. It’s a bit unfortunate that obtaining these products isn’t as easy as stopping by your nearest department store, because the foundation shade range is extensive and impressive. Other categories don’t fare quite as well, but overall the line offers a good selection of options to design your face. The positive wearability and ease of application many of these products have is overshadowed in Artistry's print and Web site information, where some skin-enhancing benefit is attributed to each cosmetic. Most of these claims (especially the anti-aging and look-younger talk) are typical hype, as evidenced by the ingredient lists, where the featured state-of-the-art ingredients appear only in tiny amounts that are listed after the fragrance or preservatives. Don't count on Artistry makeup to parlay significant skin-care benefits, but do rely on it (especially the foundations) as a well-executed cosmetics line to shop for many makeup essentials.

About the Experts

The Beautypedia Research Team is dedicated to helping you find the absolute best products for your skin, using research-based criteria to review beauty products from an honest, balanced perspective. Each member of the team was personally trained by Paula Begoun herself.

It is NOT tested on animals. OMG this review is absurd. Whoever this so called cosmetic cop Paula is, is absurd. I'm sure you use Google Search as your form of "research". Please, pay for the real research if you will be providing reviews to consumers. At least ensure that the negative and positive feedback you are providing is legitimate. I won't be surprised if this comment isn't approved....

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Reviewed by

J S

12.26.2013

Paula's Choice Research Team Response

Hi, and thank you for your comments. We list Artistry by Amyway as an animal tester because its products are sold in China. Regardless of whether a company tests its products on animals or not internally, for a company to sell its products in mainland China, it must submit them to animal testing. Chinese law requires all cosmetics products used on humans must be tested on animals first, and the companies that sell their products in China must submit their products to these tests in order for them to be approved for sale. As for the "POOR" rating on this product, it is because it is packaged in a jar, which is not the optimum packaging for the beneficial ingredients contained. Antioxidants are extremely sensitive to light and air, and jar packaging means they will break down and become ineffective in a matter of weeks. You can consult the sources we used for our research here: Free Radical Biology and Medicine, September 2007, pages 818–829; Ageing Research Reviews, December 2007, pages 271–288; Dermatologic Therapy, September-October 2007, pages 314–321; International Journal of Pharmaceutics, June 12, 2005, pages 197–203; Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, January 2002, pages 1–32; International Society for Horticultural Science, www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=778_5; Beautypackaging.com, and www.beautypackaging.com/articles/2007/03/airless-packaging.php.

We hope this clears up any confusion for you.

—Paula's Choice Research Team

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12.20.2012

Really? when you use it, it's well worth the price tag

for the longest i had been using other moisturizers and just wasn't getting the effects without trip to the spa or esthetician. I was introduced to this product ~1 year ago and what a difference. down fall no SPF, but that's ok. i've purchased an SPF to go with my creme lux. l'm lifted, have a youthful glow, far fewer fine lines. . . WELL WORTH PRICE TAG!!